Chris Evans salary could see him become one of BBC's top earners

18/06/2015

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It looks like everything is coming up Chris Evans lately and news that he is set to become the new host of Top Gear has big implications for his earning power. Evans has stepped up to fill the void that is left by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May after initially saying he would never host the show.

It has been reported that 49 year old Evans will earn a cool £1 milllion per year over the course of an initial 3 year contract to host as well as produce Top Gear. When his salary for his Radio 2 breakfast show is added to the pile, Evans is set to net himself over £5 million pounds in income from the BBC over the coming 3 years.

That sort of money will see him outearning BBC stars like Graham Norton, and Gary Lineker. The plan is that he will host Top Gear in a new format alongside at least 2 co-presenters with one of them likely to be female according to Evans.

Upon being named the cult show's new host, Evans tweeted "First tweet as new Top Gear host. I would like to say Jeremy, Richard & James are the greatest. And NO I'm not leaving the R2 Breakfast Show". He will however be leaving his presenting duties on the The One Show in order to focus on making Top Gear a success in a new era.

Speaking about taking over the iconic car show, Evans hinted that the door was never fully closed on Clarkson returning to the show. He said "I would love to see James and Richard back doing it and who knows, maybe if they'd have come back for a year, maybe Jeremy would've come back after a year."